Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Neal for yielding.

This Build Back Better bill is the third leg of a three-legged stool that balances the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden last March and the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden last Monday.

These three bills provide the wherewithal to fix our roads and bridges, repair our rails, deepen our harbors, and provide long awaited broadband to households and neighborhoods.

Mr. Speaker, I have often remarked that America is not in need of being made great. It is great and has been for a long time.

I often quote Alexis De Tocqueville's observation that America's greatness is not that it is more enlightened than any other nation, but rather, that it has always been able to repair its faults.

The Build Back Better Act will repair some longstanding faults, many of which have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and our feckless early response to it.

This Build Back Better legislation will make healthcare accessible and affordable for 2.2 million low-income, uninsured Americans that exist in the Medicaid coverage gap. It makes benefits accessible and affordable to millions of children who will be able to continue receiving the child tax credit. It will make childcare and preschool accessible and affordable for children who have been struggling to get a fair start in life; and it will make housing accessible and affordable for their parents.

The Build Back Better Act will make clean air and plant life on this planet accessible and affordable for future generations by taking historic steps to combat the climate change.

The coronavirus pandemic didn't just cause great harm for some; it exposed great harm that has existed for far too long, denying far too many of our citizens access to America's greatness.

Build Back Better provides an opportunity to make more of our Nation's greatness accessible and affordable for all.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this censure resolution. Today's action is necessary due to Representative Gosar's shocking depiction of a murder of a colleague and a violent attack against the President of the United States. This incendiary behavior cannot go unaddressed. The minority leader's failure to hold his conference Member accountable leaves us no choice but to proceed with this action.

I often refer to the Hall of this House as America's classroom. As Members of this august body, we should conduct ourselves in the way that we want our students to emulate. Mr. Gosar's behavior fails our students, fails our colleagues, and fails our Nation and ideals we espouse.

Madam Speaker, I urge a unanimous vote for this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call upon this august body for a favorable vote on H.R. 1619. That is a very interesting number for this legislation. This legislation is known as the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act.

The Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act clarifies that the Catawba Indian Nation is subject to the well-established rules and regulations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on their modern and ancestral lands in the State of North Carolina.

This legislation will clarify the Tribe's 1993 Land Claims Settlement Act and reaffirm recent action taken by the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for the Tribe.

Most importantly, this bipartisan legislation is a very significant step toward rectifying historic injustices that have been perpetrated against the Catawba Indian Nation.

Like, in many other instances of current effects of historical inequities, the Catawba Nation experiences high unemployment and poverty rates causing many of its citizens to rely upon Federal and State governments for basic social services.

The enactment of this legislation is critical to helping the Catawba Indian Nation secure economic self-sufficiency as Congress originally intended when it passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask my colleagues for a favorable vote on this Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McGovern for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I often quote George Santayana, who warned: ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''

The insurrection on January 6 was the worst attack on our Constitution since the Civil War. While the secessionists were defeated in 1865, our Nation's experiment with multiracial democracy during Reconstruction did not last.

It was extinguished by the Lost Cause mythology that minimized the evils of the secessionists and raised monuments to the leaders of the Confederacy that they established. These willful circumventions and misrepresentations were used as justification

for avoiding accountability and violently stripping African Americans of constitutional rights.

We are at risk of repeating that history today. Just as the Lost Cause laid the ideological groundwork for Jim Crow and all its inhumanities, the big lie seeks to justify nullification laws that seek to suppress votes and establish autocratic rule.

The former President and his enablers are using the big lie to deny the horror of January 6. They are attempting to obstruct and subvert the select committee's work and to prevent a full accounting of their efforts to undermine our democracy.

We know from our history that when our government is attacked, failing to hold the perpetrators accountable emboldens them. Allowing their myths to gain currency incentivizes them. And underestimating their disregard for their fellow citizens enables them to deny those citizens their constitutional rights.

I urge adoption of this resolution so that we avoid repeating the past, at least that part of our past that dehumanizes our fellow citizens. We must act to strengthen our democracy and build a better future for our country so that it can once again be the envy of the world.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this very, very important piece of legislation.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will make critical investments, not just in roads and bridges. This legislation will also invest in transit, rail, electric vehicle charging stations, electric buses, airports, ports, water, energy, environmental remediation, and high-speed broadband internet. I will focus on this last category, the $65 billion for broadband.

Millions of Americans are not connected to the internet. In my home State of South Carolina, nearly 1 in 10 households lack access to an internet connection, and even more cannot afford service. As a result, they cannot work remotely, cannot learn remotely, and cannot access telehealth. The internet is as essential to the 21st century as electricity was to the 20th century, and far too many Americans are left out.

That is why I worked closely with the House Rural Broadband Task Force, Chairman Pallone, and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to craft comprehensive legislation to make high-speed broadband accessible and affordable for all. Our bill passed the House last Congress as part of the Moving Forward Act.

While the legislation we are considering today doesn't include that bill in its entirety, and more action will be required, it does incorporate many of our bill's essential principles. It gives preference to future-focused infrastructure, prioritizes persistent poverty communities, and includes oversight and accountability mechanisms.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also invests in affordability and adoption. It requires an affordable option to be offered on newly-funded networks, extends the monthly discount on internet bills, and funds digital equity and inclusion projects.

Throughout our Nation's history, communities in most need of Federal funds have all too often been the last in line.

Together with the Build Back Better Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will make America's greatness accessible and affordable for all Americans. I urge passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a servant leader, professional athlete, and a son of South Carolina. David Patten, Jr., from Columbia, South Carolina, passed away on September 2, 2021 at the age of 47. He was taken from us too soon but lived his life as an example for others to follow and his legacy will live on in the countless number of people he touched.

David was born the third of four children to David Patten, Sr., and Betty Williams Patten. He was a football stand out at Lower Richland High School and earned a full scholarship to play at Western Carolina University.

When he left college, David was passed over by the National Football League (NFL) because of his small stature. But what he didn't have in size, he made up for in determination. While working in a coffee bean factory, he trained hard to achieve his goal of becoming an NFL player and spent time playing in the Canadian and Arena Football Leagues. His big break came at a University of South Carolina Pro Timing Day, when the New York Giants extended him an invitation to try out. The rest is history.

David went on to have a successful 12-year career as a receiver in the NFL, where he earned three Super Bowl rings. He is best remembered for making two iconic catches to help the New England Patriots win their first Super Bowl in 2001. Over the course of his career, David played for the New York Giants (1997 to 1999), Cleveland Browns (2000), New England Patriots (2001 to 2004), Washington Redskins (2005 to 2006), and the New Orleans Saints (2007 to 2008). He played in 147 NFL games, caught 324 passes for 4,715 yards and scored 24 touchdowns.

His motto ``maximum effort'' grew from his philosophy that one must work hard to be the best at whatever he pursued. When he retired from the NFL, David applied his motto to finishing his degree in social work at Western Carolina. He became an ordained minister in 2013. He also became a property investor, renovator, and landscaper, all while applying his motto, ``maximum effort'' to his life experiences.

David was a powerful motivational speaker. The driving force in his life was his Christian faith, and he became well known for his mission to be an ambassador for Christ. David

married his college sweetheart, Galiena Hardy, and they were a devoted couple for 24 years. They established the ``A Way of Life'' (AWOL) Ministries. Together they sought to leave no soul lost.

David leaves to mourn his wife and their four children, David III, Daquan, Quinton, and Mia, his parents, siblings and extended family.

Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in celebrating the life of David Patten, Jr. President Abraham Lincoln is purported to have said, ``It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.'' I believe this to be fitting for David. He lived a significant and meaningful life, and we are all better for having had him among us.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I want to take this time to thank my colleagues in this august body for the civility that we have demonstrated here as we approach this final vote.

I want to thank the Democrats, every single one of whom cosponsored this legislation. I am hopeful that this can be a bipartisan result. I think all of us know that our country has a history of voter suppression and voter denial. I think all of us are quite aware of recent efforts being made in many States. Forty-nine have passed laws that are called restrictive by objective analyses that have been made. These laws are not needed. These laws are very creative instruments that will be used if not checked to suppress the vote.

We all heard a recent candidate having lost an election call upon election officials to: Just find me the number of votes that I need to win this election. If that is not voter suppression, I would like to know how we would define it.

So I want to thank all of us for what we have done here today, and I hope that this result can be a bipartisan one.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a veteran and patriarch of a large, extended family who has been blessed with a long life and a deep faith. Theodore Roosevelt Brown, Sr. turns 95 on August 12, 2021, and I join with his family and friends in celebrating this significant milestone.

Theodore Brown was born in Noel, Virginia, to the late Floyd and Nannie Brown. His mother was known for her famous rolls and his father dedicated much of his life to working at DuPont and as a minister. His sister Mary was born on his second birthday and the two grew up as close as twins.

Early on, Theodore learned the value of hard work and education. As a child, he walked more than a mile to attend Hanover Public School. One of his proudest moments was earning second-place in the county's spelling bee. While still in school, Theodore's family moved to Richmond, where he attended Armstrong High School and participated in the R.O.T.C. and the school band.

In his senior year, Theodore enlisted in the U.S. Army as the country was embroiled in World War II. He received his basic training at Fort Lee, Virginia and technical training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He would later be deployed to Oakland Army Base in California and assigned to the U.S. Army Signal Corp. During his deployments, he installed telephone cables in the South Pacific, traveling across the world to Leyte, Guam, Manila, and Spain, before returning to the United States and receiving an honorable discharge on December 22, 1946. Theodore spent another three years in the Army Reserves.

Like so many in his generation, Theodore faced discrimination when he returned home. He applied for work at Virginia Power Electric Company but was rejected due to his race. Subsequently, he took a seasonal job with Phillip Morris Inc. He then spent 20 years as a cabinet installer with the Custom Kitchen Company. Seeking better pay and benefits, Theodore switched careers and became a paint mechanic for Richmond Public Schools, from which he retired after twenty years of service. Soon after he retired, Theodore embarked on a new journey as an entrepreneur, opening a very successful janitorial and maintenance business that he ran for sixteen years.

Faith is a pillar of Theodore's long life. Since being baptized at ten years old, he has been active in the church. A talented singer, he sang with the Notes of Harmony Quartet Group for thirty years. During his time in Richmond, Virginia, Theodore was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church, where he served as President of the United Methodist Men organization, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, and a Class Leader.

In 2016, he and his wife moved to South Carolina and joined St. John United Methodist Church, where he holds the distinction as father of the church. Not only does he sing in the church choir; he is also a member of the Florence District United Methodist Choir, which travels to many churches and nursing homes to perform.

Theodore is the father of nine, and the stepfather of four. He is happily married to his second wife, Albertine, and enjoys spending time with his extended family. In addition to singing, his hobbies include fishing, playing horseshoes, card games, reading, and traveling.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in celebrating the ninety-fifth birthday of Theodore Roosevelt Brown, Sr. Those who know him best describe him as a strong, honest, compassionate, and dependable man with a great sense of humor and an abundance of love for others. May he continue to be a blessing to all that are fortunate to know and love him.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a longtime friend and educator, Dr. Marshall C. Grigsby, who will celebrate his 75th birthday on August 18, 2021. A man, who in his teens wondered if he would reach his 25th birthday because of his active involvement in civil rights direct action during the early 1960s, finally reached an unimagined milestone 50 years hence.

I first met Marshall when he became President of Benedict College in Columbia, SC in 1985 while I was serving as the head of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. We quickly forged a great working relationship and a valued friendship that continues to this day.

Dr. Grigsby has had a phenomenal career distinguishing himself as a college professor, administrator, and as an advisor to Congress, Presidents of the United States and various private sector and non- profit educational entities on educational equity and inclusion. But, he did not blaze these trails overnight. He began this journey after graduating from Morehouse College in 1968 and matriculating at the University of Chicago, where he completed the Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry degrees in 1972. While in Divinity School, Dr. Grigsby served as the Executive Director of the Black Legislative Clearing House, an educational and research organization based in Chicago and tasked with serving the Nation's Black state legislators. Some of the elected officials associated with the Clearing House included Harold Washington and Coleman Young who would later become the mayors of Chicago and Detroit, respectively; Hannah Atkins who later became Secretary of State for Oklahoma; and Mervyn Dymally and George Brown who would become the first Black Lieutenant Governors of California and Colorado, respectively.

In 1973, Dr. Grigsby was the youngest and first African American appointed to the professional staff of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. In that position, he was responsible for working with 196 member institutions in developing programs that more adequately addressed the concerns and interests of their minority students.

Dr. Grigsby was invited to join the faculty and administration of the Howard University Divinity School in 1975, where he served for 10 years. He taught courses in the content area of church, society and fundraising in a church context. During his tenure, he reorganized the academic calendar that resulted in a significant increase in the school's enrollment.

In 1985, at the age of 38, Dr. Grigsby was elected the 12th President of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. During his eight-year tenure, programs were initiated which helped the institution achieve national recognition. He established the first undergraduate environmental health science program in the Southeast and established the first college wide honors program. In 1991, Benedict was one of five small liberal arts colleges selected nationwide as a recipient of the Knight Foundation Presidential Leadership Award. The Award was designed to recognize creative and innovative presidential leadership at small liberal arts colleges throughout America.

During his tenure at Benedict, Dr. Grigsby served as chair of the South Carolina Tuition Grants Program, the Board of the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, the South Carolina Educational Television Endowment Board and the South Carolina Humanities Council. He was instrumental in having the South Carolina Humanities Council housed on the Benedict College campus.

In 1994, Dr. Grigsby joined the staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the U.S. House of Representatives as the Senior Legislative Associate for Higher Education. In that position, he provided oversight, advice and counsel to Members on issues involving distance learning, vocational rehabilitation, affirmative action, and the Corporation for National and Community Service and Federal Impact Aid. Furthermore, he served as the lead Democratic staff member on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act amendments of 1998 that included strengthening Title III and IV as well as creating Title V (aid to Hispanic Serving Institutions), and the GEAR-UP Program.

After serving eight years on Capitol Hill, Dr. Grigsby left in 2001 to establish Grigsby and Associates, LLC, an educational, legislative and policy development consulting firm specializing in educational policy issues, strategic planning and the Federal legislative and regulatory processes.

Dr. Grigsby has served as a senior consultant with the Council for Opportunity in Education, the umbrella organization for the nation's federal TRIO programs, and as a senior scholar with the Claiborne Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Education. In addition, he drafted the 2001-2003 Annual Report of the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities pursuant to Executive Order 13256. The report, ``The Mission Continues'', outlines federal support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Madam Speaker, I invite you and my colleagues to join me in commending this distinguished theologian, educator, and academician. As he celebrates this milestone birthday, please join me in extending to him a hearty and heartfelt 75th year and our very best wishes in all of his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me and thank her so much for bringing this issue before the American people.

For several weeks now, we have all heard discussions about various aspects of H.R. 1 and H.R. 4. Now, H.R. 4, as all of us know, has not yet passed the Congress and is now before the Senate.

But I wanted to bring two issues to the forefront here this evening. The first one has to do with the so-called preclearance that we just heard a discussion on. I am serving in the Congress today in large part because of the preclearance in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

But preclearance came into being because of some targeted legislation, legislation targeted toward those States that had a history of discriminating. Therefore, because all the States did not have that kind of a history, we had to go out and develop a record to show that this is the reason these particular States are being targeted. All or parts of seven States were initially covered and, of course, we all know what happened in Shelby County v. Holder.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act was virtually gutted because the formula of section 4 is no longer operative. Therefore, section 5 has really been neutralized, which is the preclearance.

Here is something I want to bring to the attention of the American people, and that is this: If you were to only pass preclearance as it relates to a history of discrimination, we will miss what is happening in the country today. Pennsylvania was not one of those States. Yet, we see massive discrimination in voting being advocated throughout Pennsylvania. The same thing is going on up in Michigan.

Now, according to the studies I have read, 48 States have now put into place or proposed--I think 28 of them have put into place-- restrictive voting laws. Under the standard of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, these States would not be covered. Therefore, it is time for everybody to turn their attention to what we need to do about preclearance.

I submit that preclearance needs to be applied universally to all 50 States, because if you pass preclearance, zeroing in on seven, eight, nine States, and then another State pops up with a new restrictive law, that State would not be covered under preclearance, and I think it is time for us to take a look at that as well.

Madam Speaker, I call upon my friends in the Senate to not wait around for us to develop this record, though I think it is pretty much in place, look at applying preclearance to all 50 States.

The second thing I think that we are needing to begin to think about that is not being discussed is this little thing called nullification; states enacting nullification laws. If you look at the Georgia law that they passed, it is very suppressive. It restricts. The thing that is insulting to me is that little part in there that allows an established commission to overturn the results of an election, to nullify the results of an election. None of us are using that word today, but that word is very prominent when you look at what States are doing.

That violates not just laws as passed by this Congress, that violates the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear. Article I, Section 4 tells us that no State can pass final judgment on federal elections. No State. The best argument for that is sitting right there in The Federalist Papers No. 59. It talks about it and lays out examples as to why the Federal Government cannot allow States to determine the election.

That is why the Supreme Court made it very clear that States could not put term limits on Members of Congress because that is not their purview. When you see nullification laws coming forward, I think it is incumbent upon this Congress to step in and do what is necessary to exert the Constitution of the United States. That is what is at threat here today. That is why I have argued irrespective of what you may feel about filibusters.

Filibusters ought not be applied to anybody's constitutional rights because it will allow a State to give final determination as it relates to federal elections, and that is as unconstitutional as anything that can take place.

Madam Speaker, I think that it is incumbent upon the Federal Government, the Congress, the House of Representatives, and the Senate to do what is necessary to make sure that the United States Constitution still reigns supreme.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time.

I listened pretty intently to the minority leader talking about theory, a principle upon which a set of practices

are made. That is what a theory is. We are not here today to talk about theory.

Today, we are talking about some actions, some practices that were made. We are talking about moving to make this Nation more perfect. And one of the ways you do that is by recognizing and admitting that we have a very spotted history when it comes to race.

I met my late wife in jail protesting practices that were based upon our skin color. Racial inequities, that is what this is all about.

One of the statues in this building sent up here by my State, South Carolina, is a statue of John C. Calhoun. John C. Calhoun is not here because he defended the southern States during the Civil War. We talk about those generals all over this place.

John C. Calhoun died in 1850, more than a decade before the Civil War started. So why is he here? Why did South Carolina send his statue up here for us to honor? Simply because he was this Nation's foremost proponent of slavery. So much so until Yale University from which he graduated took his name off the college that they celebrated him with. Clemson University, which he was one of the founders of, took his name off of his Honors College. Charleston, South Carolina, where he is buried took his statue down overnight. People went to bed around 11 o'clock at night looking at the statue, and when they got up at 6 o'clock the next morning, it was gone because South Carolina has done everything they can to get beyond those principles advocated by John C. Calhoun.

But his statue is here. And I want to thank the Speaker for moving that statue to some place out the eyesight of any school child coming up here. I always call this Hall ``America's classroom.'' And we ought to be teaching in this Hall that which is wholesome about the country.

This is a great country. Nobody denies that. I don't call this a racist country. I do say that this country has on occasion, too often for my taste, tolerated racism. That is a fact. And nobody can deny that fact.

Last time this bill came before this body, over 70 of my Republican friends voted for it. I would hope we could do a little better today.

Madam Speaker, I close by reminding my friend, most of us who studied history, we know when the Republican Party came into being. We know when the Democratic Party came into being; it happens to be an older party than the Republican Party. So I understand all of that. But we also know that in 1948, when Hubert Humphrey spoke at the 1948 Democratic Convention against segregation, Strom Thurmond, the Democrat, left the party, came back. And in 1964 when Democrats came together and decided that they were going to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Strom Thurmond, the Democrat, left the Democratic Party, became a Republican, and took all of those segregationists with him into the South Carolina Republican Party. The South Carolina Republican Party built itself on the Confederate battle flag.

Those are facts of history. We can't deny those facts, and we won't try to. We try to do whatever we can to do what George Santayana admonished us to do; learn the history and gather lessons from that history or we run the risk of repeating that history. What we should do today is relegate these statues to the dust bin of history.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for yielding to me. I thank her for the tremendous leadership she has given as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. I appreciate her work, and I appreciate her friendship.

Madam Speaker, I woke up this morning to several headlines, one of which came from a little town in my congressional district, Summerton, South Carolina.

Those who have studied a little bit of our history will know that Summerton is a little town that started our Nation on the road to Brown v. Board of Education. It was Briggs v. Elliott, the first case to challenge segregated schools in this country, and that case became one of five that have become known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

But that is not why Summerton, South Carolina, was in the news today. It was in the news today because that little town's entire water system has failed. All the people in that town have been subjected, over the last several weeks, to poison in their water system.

People were getting sick. Nobody knew what was causing it. People were being diagnosed with all kinds of things, like swimmer's ear when they had never been in a swimming pool.

Today, the estimated cost of fixing their water system is more than the entire budget of the town.

Summerton is just one example of what is happening all over this country. Little towns like Summerton, rural communities, schools, childcare centers, you name it, the people in that little town need their infrastructure fixed.

Now, that is traditional.

But I will tell you something else about the little town of Summerton: Scott's Branch High School, the school where Brown v. Board of Education started, that is what the school was, Scott's Branch High School; it is still there. It is the third building, but the school is still named the same. Less than 34 percent of the students in that school district are connected to the internet.

Now that means in that little school that challenged segregation years ago because they were not being adequately educated--and I can talk all night about this--kids walking 9.4 miles to school every day one way and 9.4 miles back home. They weren't suing to integrate the schools, all they wanted was a school bus. These are the basic things. And you look at that school district today, they want to be connected to the internet.

And we have colleagues in this place who tell us that they are all for an infrastructure bill so long as it confines itself to traditional infrastructure issues like roads and bridges.

Well, we need roads and bridges, but we need water and sewerage. We need to deepen our ports, fix our rail systems. The greatest country on Earth needs to do something about its rail system.

And I remember when rail was not traditional infrastructure. Of course, I wasn't around, but I remember from my studies when rail was not traditional infrastructure. It wasn't until Abraham Lincoln gave us the transcontinental railroad that rail was considered infrastructure. The interstate highway was not infrastructure. Dwight Eisenhower gave us the interstate highway, and then it became traditional infrastructure.

Today broadband has got to be a big part of infrastructure. COVID-19 has exposed some real flaws in our system, and when it comes to education we have many children who have already lost a full year of school; some are threatening to lose a second year of school. What happens to a sixth or seventh grader when they lose 2 years of school?

But the children who had the internet stayed in touch with education, which tells me that in that school district there in Summerton, South Carolina, where less than 40 percent of the students are connected to the internet, they run the risk of 60 percent of their children losing another year of school. They will be no better off than those students were back when Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954.

So this infrastructure bill has got to be about more than what is traditional. It has got to be looking toward the future. And it seems to me that we, as the greatest country in the world, need to look to the future. What do we want

for our children and our grandchildren? We should not tie ourselves to that which is traditional. Traditional alone means what has been. We need to be futuristic.

Now before I close, Madam Speaker, I want to share a little story. I often tell this story. Back when the rural electric co-ops were celebrating their 50th anniversary of rural electrification, they decided to publish a tabletop book, and they called the book, ``The Next Greatest Thing.'' And the reason they called the book, ``The Next Greatest Thing'' is because one night a farmer in rural Tennessee stood up in church and said to them, brothers and sisters, let me tell you something, the greatest thing on Earth is to have the love of God in your heart, but the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house.

Think about that. Broadband will do for the 21st century what electricity did for rural America in the 20th century. And this is our best opportunity to bring rural America in line with the rest of us and make sure that children will not be limited in their educational pursuits by where they live. We are too great a nation for that.

This is a great country. It doesn't have to be made great again. What we have got to do is make this country's greatness accessible and affordable for all of its citizens.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman allowing me to stand in for the majority leader. I know he joins me in hoping that the majority leader will be back with us very shortly and that this will be his last time having to contend with me. I hope that Mr. Hoyer will be rejoining us very soon, as he continues to mend.

Next week, the House will meet on Monday at 12 p.m. for morning-hour debate and at 2 p.m. for legislative business, with votes expected no earlier than 6:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate and 12 p.m. for legislative business.

On Wednesday, the House will meet at 12 p.m. for legislative business.

On Thursday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business.

On Friday, the House will meet at 11:30 for a pro forma session.

On Monday, we will consider several bills under suspension of the rules. The complete list of suspension bills will be announced by the close of business today.

In addition, we will consider:

H.R. 3005, legislation to remove the bust of former Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, Confederate statues, and certain other statues.

H.R. 2662, the Inspectors General Independence and Empowerment Act. This legislation is sorely needed in the wake of the prior administration's assault on the rule of law and independent oversight. It would strengthen the independence of inspectors general and protect their ability to investigate abuses at Federal agencies.

A resolution to establish a select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

H.R. 3684 will be considered, the INVEST in America Act, to grow our economy and create good jobs by modernizing our Nation's roads, bridges, rail, and transit. In addition to addressing surface transportation, this bill will also include critical provisions to address our safe drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I have not consulted with the majority leader on that subject. I suspect that we will wait for the Senate's actions and make determinations as needed when we get some definition as to what they are going to do.

I understand that the gentleman indicates that what has occurred regarding the bipartisan legislation is of concern, but I assure the gentleman that the President made it very clear from the beginning that he has a definition of infrastructure that goes into family needs that are more or less nontraditional, and I think that all that the Speaker has been talking about is to reinforce her beliefs that the President is correct in his thoughts.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I don't know that I have any more to add to that except to say that, if we go back into history, we have got to know that rail was not infrastructure until Abraham Lincoln decided that it should be. Interstate highways were not infrastructure until Dwight Eisenhower decided that they should be. And broadband was not infrastructure until now. I think that is because we are being more futuristic when we think about what the needs are going to be in this great country as we move forward.

I am glad that the gentleman agrees that broadband is, in fact, an infrastructure issue. A couple years ago, I had a very hard time getting people to understand that. COVID-19 has revealed to us that there are things that we did not consider in the past which we must consider going forward. Broadband is one of them. Family infrastructure needs or a few other things.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I assure the gentleman that his concerns are well considered on this side of the aisle. Next week will be our last week before going into the Independence Day break, and I suspect some assessments will be made between now and our returning after the July 4 holiday.

As you know, we have gone from 45 minutes down to 20 minutes. Now I am looking forward to us going to the regular 15 minutes now that people are gathering on the floor.

We want to be a family-friendly Congress. Families are reordering their businesses so that their children and other children can be accounted and taken care of as we return back to normal. These considerations are not just for us, but they are for what is happening back in communities and whether or not these communities are being stood up in such a way that childcare can be available and other things that will keep families intact.

But I assure you that we are concerned about getting back to regular order, and I look for that to occur hopefully soon after the July 4 holiday.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

As you mention, we were on it this week with the presence of Chairman Powell at our select subcommittee hearing. Chairman Powell made two things very clear to us.

Number one, he says it would be a big mistake to put the brakes on too soon; that we must allow families to get back on their feet, communities to get restored. And he advised against us doing anything too soon.

He also made it very clear that if he and the Fed were to make some determination that inflation is becoming a problem, the Fed could deal with it.

You may recall that he indicated that a lot of the price increases have come about as a result of bottlenecks that have existed in the system as people are gearing back up, and he thinks that is going to be temporary. He also feels that if it looks like this is going to go beyond being temporary, that he has the tools to make the kind of adjustments that are at least necessary to keep the economy flowing and to keep inflation in check.

I think that on my side of the aisle, we are very comfortable following the advice of Chairman Powell, and I would hope that this is an issue that will not get politicized. We need to get this country back on track. We need to get families back in touch with each other. We need to keep this country moving in a positive way. So I think we are going to wait and take advice from Chairman Powell on whether we should do anything legislatively to deal with that issue.

I assure you that, in my instance, my Governor is a Republican. In fact, he was the first Governor to endorse the previous President. But we are very close friends, and we have been in consultation over what to do as we go forward.

I am working very closely with him and working very closely with other Governors, as well. I think that each State is unique when it comes to how to stand back up as we go forward.

I am proud that Louisiana is moving in the right direction. I applaud John Bel Edwards for working closely with you. I assure you that I am working just as close with the Governor of South Carolina and other Governors to make sure we do what is necessary to apply our efforts in such a way that it won't cause problems for States as they stand back up.

I thank the gentleman for his friendship and kind remarks today. But I am looking forward to the majority leader coming back and taking his rightful place at this mike. The gentleman and I can continue our relationship with the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis and in other areas around the Capitol.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman letting me stand in today for the majority leader.

Next week, on Tuesday, the House will meet at 12 p.m. for morning- hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business, with votes expected no earlier than 6:30 p.m.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate and 12 p.m. for legislative business.

On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business, with last votes no later than 3 p.m.

We will consider several bills under suspension of the rules. The complete

list of suspension bills will be announced by the close of business tomorrow.

In addition, we will consider:

H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, which would make it easier for those who have suffered age discrimination in the workplace to file a complaint and seek redress;

H.R. 1443, the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, which would ensure that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau keep statistics on credit reporting for LGBTQ-owned businesses in the same way as it does for women- and minority-owned companies and small businesses; and

H.R. 239, Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, which would allow women receiving healthcare services from the VA system to access basic contraceptive care without paying copays similar to coverage provided under the Affordable Care Act.

We will consider three resolutions of disapproval to reverse regulatory actions made under the prior administration, which have all been passed by the Senate:

S.J. Res. 13 would reverse the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's rule that had obscured information about the factual and legal basis the Commission used to make determinations on discriminatory practices;

S.J. Res. 14 would overturn the prior administration's Environmental Protection Agency rule that removed protections from dangerous methane emissions that exacerbate the climate crisis; and

S.J. Res. 15 would overturn a rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and allow States once again to regulate these lenders and protect consumers in order to rein in predatory lenders and rent-a- bank schemes.

You and I have been having this discussion for quite a while with our select subcommittee activities. I have not seen the legislation that you make reference to, but I am sure that the majority leader has. And, like you, I am looking forward to his speedy recovery so he can get back into this spot. I am a little more familiar with sparring with you in our select subcommittee than on this floor.

But having said that, I think you are aware that the Biden administration has already directed the United States intelligence community to examine this issue, calling on the intelligence community to redouble their efforts to report their findings by August 24 and to keep Congress fully apprised of their work.

We have confidence in their ability to conduct a robust evidence- based inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus and will not allow House Republicans to irresponsibly hijack this issue for partisan purposes. We want to see this thing happen, and you and I have had this discussion. And because they have got until August 24--that is, what, 3 months from now, or less--I think we will be in a good place to let the Intelligence Committee do its work.

Madam Speaker, I want to assure the gentleman that I am as anxious to know exactly what happened as he is. And the American people want to know exactly what happened. The fact of the matter is, though, we have several committees that are investigating, including the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology have indicated that they intend to look into the matter.

Now, like you, I am from the South, and you can get too many cooks in the kitchen. And I am fully aware that to have a plethora of committees stumbling over each other trying to get to the bottom of this will serve no useful purpose.

So I want to see things done here as close to regular order as we possibly can have them done, and to let the committees of jurisdiction conduct their investigation, this administration working through its intelligence department doing the investigations, and I am sure they will come up with the kind of information that would do us as citizens and as Members of this great body justice.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

The Committee on Appropriations has announced that it will start its process next week with four subcommittee markups. Over the next 2 weeks, and then the week of July 12, the committee will complete subcommittee and full committee markups on all 12 of the annual appropriations bills.

We plan to consider the bills on the floor the final 2 weeks of July, when we are in session. That will be the week of July 19 and July 26.

Now, I suspect that we will be close to what the gentleman just indicated he would like to see with the schedule. I am certain that the Committee on Appropriations will do everything it possibly can to keep that schedule so that we will complete all of our work before the August break.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I think the gentleman is aware that I am very anxious about doing things in a bipartisan way when that can be achieved.

Now, the majority leader has announced that during the week of June 28, the House will take up the INVEST in America Act, a 5-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that was approved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure by a bipartisan vote.

I think the gentleman is aware of the pretty long session, all-night session, that both parties in that committee undertook. I think that they have produced a product that will make these key investments in smart, safe, sustainable, and resilient transportation infrastructure that is needed by the American people to move goods and services throughout our country efficiently, effectively, and equitably. I could not go through this colloquy with the gentleman and not invoke those three words that he is so familiar with.

Now, at the same time, we must remember that our Nation's infrastructure is comprised of far more than roads and bridges. I often talk about the advent of the internet. I could remember when it first came on the scene, everybody referred to the internet as the ``information superhighway.'' I have always advocated that it is time for us to start treating the information highway the same way we treat the interstate highways.

So, I agree with the gentleman that we should move with an infrastructure bill, but I want him to know that I think it is important that the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act is a part of that.

I know this debate has been going on as to whether or not we ought to move on a bipartisan bill that focuses on traditional infrastructure. For anything to be traditional, it has to be in our past, but I think it is time for us to be looking to the future when we talk about infrastructure and to have an infrastructure bill come through this body that focuses on the future of healthcare, which cannot be efficient, effective, or equitable without broadband.

Online learning is a must for our children. We know COVID-19, according to all the experts, may not be the last time that we are faced with such a pandemic. There are some predicting that there could come another, maybe not in my lifetime but maybe in yours. We must be prepared.

So, I am hopeful that this infrastructure bill that we move through this body will not just be traditional but will be looking to the future so we can have the kind of legislation that will prepare our children and grandchildren for a world that we hope they will be competitive in.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have anything else. I thank the gentleman for allowing me to stand in here today.

I say to him that I would hope that as we go forward with this discussion, we will look at this whole issue as the title of the bill indicates: Invest in America. When we make investments, financial investments, the money may leave our coffers, but it comes back sometimes tenfold.

So there is a big difference between raising taxes and making investments.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a good friend and one of our Nations great military leaders as he transfers command. Brigadier General Milford Beagle, Jr., a native son of South Carolina, has led Fort Jackson in his home state since 2018, and is leaving to take on his next assignment as commanding general of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum in New York.

A native of Enoree, South Carolina, and a graduate of Woodruff High School, Gen. Beagle is the great-grandson of Private Walter Beagles, who trained at Camp Jackson in a segregated labor battalion in 1918. One hundred years later, Gen. Beagle served three years as commander of the Army base where his greatgrandfather faced discrimination. The twist of fate is not lost on Gen. Beagle, who has said, ``I am a Buffalo Soldier, I am a Harlem Hellfighter--you see, I am what a Black soldier set out to be in the early 1900s and even beyond that point. They wanted to be viewed as equal, they wanted to dispute the myths about Blacks being soldiers. They wanted to prove they were worthy enough to wear the uniform of our nation.'' I believe he has fulfilled the dreams and aspirations of so many Black soldiers who came before him.

Gen. Beagle's path to leadership began at my alma mater, South Carolina State University. There he was a track athlete and graduated with military distinction in 1990. He is part of S.C. State's tremendous legacy as one of the largest educators of minority Army officers in the country. He went on to earn two master's degrees from Kansas State University and the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.

During his 31-year career, Gen. Beagle has served with five regiments, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the 6th Infantry, the 9th Infantry, the 35th Infantry, and the 41st Infantry Regiment, and with five divisions, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 2nd Armored Division, the 5th Infantry Division, the 10th Mountain Division (Light), and the 25th Infantry Division. His key staff assignments include service as a planner and operations officer at battalion and brigade level, and as Chief Plans Branch, G3, Eighth Army, Republic of Korea. On the Joint and Army Staff, he served as the Joint Strategic Planner and later Executive Assistant to the Director, J-7, as well as the Division Chief, J-5, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. On the Army Staff, he served as the Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.

Gen. Beagle's combat and operational experience include tours with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Gen. Beagle is married to the former Pamela Jones, a native of Blackville, South Carolina. The couple has two children, Jordan and Jayden, one an Army Lieutenant and the other a college student.

During his years at Fort Jackson, Gen. Beagle has become a community leader and role model. He helped secure the greater Midlands area the recognition as a ``Great American Defense Community.'' He has earned the accolades of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and Columbia Chamber of Commerce CEO Carl Blackstone. I join them in commending his tremendous involvement in the community.

Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in saluting the extraordinary service of Brigadier General Beagle. He has distinguished himself as a leader in the military and in the community. He commands the respect of those he leads and those he serves. I am proud to call him a friend, and I wish him well as he continues his service to this great country.